Taiwan scrambled jets on Tuesday to warn away 29 Chinese aircraft in its air defense zone, including bombers that flew south of the island and into the Pacific, in the latest uptick in tensions and largest incursion since late May.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained in recent years of repeated missions by the Chinese air force near the democratically governed island, often in the southwestern part of its air defense identification zone (ADIZ) close to the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
Taiwan calls China's repeated nearby military activities "gray zone" warfare, designed to both wear out Taiwanese forces by making them repeatedly scramble, and also to test Taiwanese responses.